Paper dispenser



Dec. 4, 1945. K. TATOR ET AL PAPER DISPENSER Filed Nov. 6, 1945 2 SheetsSheeg l KENNETH TAT R GUSIRVE .HOLMCJREN W @JM Dec. 4, 1945. K. TATOR ET AL 2,390,399

.PAPER DISPENSER Filed Nov. 6, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 KENNETH TATOR GUSTAV}: HOLMGREN Patented Dec. 4, 1945 PAPER DISPENSER T Kenneth Tater, Fairfax County, Va., and Gustave Holmmn, Washin gton, D.

Application November s, 1943, Serial No. 509,268

V 9 Claims. (01. 242-553) This invention relates to paper dispensers and in particular to dispensers for paper in. roll form, such as toilet paper, paper towels, and the like. While the invention is especially useful for dispensing paper, it will be obvious that it may be employed for dispensing other sheet materials which come in roll form.

An object of the invention is to devise a container or dispenser for sheet material inrolls, the dispenser being formed of simple construction and involving a minimum number of parts.

Another object of the invention is to devise a 1 dispenser which requires no skill in refilling when the dispenser becomes empty.

A further object is to devise means for holding the end of the paper or other sheet material in a readily accessible position.

' Still another object is, to devise a dispenser for roll paper which exerts a snubbing action on a roll and avoids unnecessary unwinding of paper from the roll.

The objects or our invention are attained in t structure in which the paper roll rests I freely aga nst the bottom wall of a container or casing, andthe weight of the'roll exerts a snubbin action that prevents unnecessary unwindingof the paper. The paper is withdrawn from the roll by passing vertically upward from the roll through an outlet passage, whereby,- as the paper is pulled out of the casing, at least a part of the weight of the roll is relieved andthe snubbing action is Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 1-1 of Figure 6; I

Figure 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of another arrangement of finger notch; and

Figure 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of Figure 8 taken alongthe line 9-9.

Referring to the drawings, the dispenser embodies a container or casing I formed in a boxlike shape having a semi-cylindrical bottom gen erally conforming to the shape of the paper roll 2 which is contained within the casing. We prefer to form the casing I of a molded plastic material; but it may be formed of cast metal, or it may be fabricated from sheet metal or other material.

reduced. Finally, snubbing means is provided in I or associated with the outlet passage to prevent the'end of the paper from falling back into the casing.

Several forms of our invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one dispenser as seen from above and to the right of the central plane;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the dispenser of Figure 1 taken along the central vertical plane and showing a paper roll in position in the dispenser;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary rear view of the upper part of the dispenser showing a portion of the upper left-hand corner cut away;

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate another form of dispenser, Figure 4 being a. perspective view'showing the front of the dispenser when mounted in a wall, and Figure 5 being aside view of Figure 4 showing the wall in vertical section;

Figure 6 is a perspective front view of another form of dispenser which is mounted within a wall 7 with the front face thereof flush with the wall;

In Figures 1 and 2 the casing I is supported by a vertical mounting plate 3 which is secured to any suitable vertical supporting surface. As will be seen from Figure 2, the casing is mounted with its open side in a vertical position, and the supporting plate 3 forms a closure for the open side of thecasing. The box-like casing is pivotally supported at the lower edge of its open side by a pintl 3a which is journaled in an enlarged portion of plate 3 at the loweredge thereof. By this arrangement, the dispenser may be opened by swinging the casing I about the pintle 3a so that the open side of the casing is in a substantially horizontal plane,

As will be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the upper edge of plate 3 has a thickened horizontal portion 3b which is positioned between the vertical. end walls Ia and lb of casing I. The upper edge of casing l is also thickened atIc opposite the thickened portion 3b, and the adjacent faces of these two thickened portions are arranged in spaced relation to provide a passage through which the paper 2a from the roll 2 is withdrawn. As shown in Figure 2, the adjacent faces of the thickened portions I0 and 3b are shaped to provide a tortuous path for the paper as it passes through the passage, and this is for the purpose of providing a brake or snubbing action on the paper to prevent the end of the paper from falling back into the casing.

The thickened upper edge 3b of plate 3 is notched in the central portion at 3c to provide a recess into which one or. more fingers may be extended and brought into contact with the rear face of the paper 2a when it is desired to withdraw more paper fromthe casing. In order to hold casing I in its normal position against the pressure of the finger, a suitable latching means i is provided between the casing and the supporting plate 3. For this purpose we may use any known type of latch, such as the spring pressed detentformed on the inner face of end wall casing I. If desired, a detent may be provided at 3d mounted in the thickened portion 3b of the plate 3 and positioned to engage a depression lb of the each end of the casing.

In the use of the dispenser, it is first loaded by opening the casing and placing the roll 2 within the casing with the free end of the paper 20, extending from the rear of the roll on the top thereof and beyond thickened edge Ic. The casing l is then raised and pressed into its normal position against plate 3 where it is held by detent 3d. It will be understood that after the casing has been closed, the snubbing action of the tortuous passage 'on the free .end of the paper is sufficient to prevent the paper from falling back into the casing.

In drawing paper from the dispenser, one or more fingers are inserted into the notch 30, and by pressing the fingers against the rear face of the paper and drawing them upwardly, the end of the paper is drawn out of the container a sufiicient distance so that it may be grasped between the thumb and the fingers and drawn out to any desired extent. Usually the paper will be perforated at regular intervals, and the thickened edge lc of the casing will serve as a guide for tearing off the desired length. The provision of the finger notch 30 makes it possible to reach the upper edge of the paper even though the paper may tear off below the upper edgev of the casing.

It will be noted that our dispenser does not involve complicated means for mounting the paper roll on a supporting axle or roller. The roll is simply dropped into the casing and it requires no skill whatever to load the dispenser. Furthermore, since the free end of the paper is directed upwardly through the guiding passage, the upward pull on the paper when it is being withdrawn from the casing serves to take up part of the weight of the paper and thereby reduces the friction of, the roll against the casing and allows the paper to be freely withdrawn. Finally, when the pull on the paperceases, the weight of the paper the casing will exert a snubbing action on the roll and will prevent the roll from unwinding more than is necessary. Thus we avoid several difficulties commonly found in paper dispensers where the paper roll is supported upon a journaled axle or roller. A

In the form of dispenser illustrated in Figures 4 and 5', the construction is substantially like that shown in Figures 1 to 3, except that instead of mounting the dispenser on the plate 3, the dispenser is reversed and mounted in a recess in a wall 6, the casing l extending back into the space between the wall 6 and the opposite wall Ba of a partition. In this modification, the finger notch is formed in the thickened edge lc of the casing wall which projects in front of the wall 6. The finger notch is shown at la in Figure 4. In this arrangement,the outlet passage for the paper 2a is also arranged in a tortuous manner as shown in dottedlines in Figure 5. It will be understood in Figures 4 and 5 the plate 3 serves as a pivoted closure for the casing which may be opened by inserting the finger in the notch lo and exerting a pressure on the rear upper edge of the plate 3 sufficient to overcomethe retaining action of the detents.

The construction of the container illustrated in Figures 6 and '7 is the same as for Figures 1 to 3, except for the arrangement of the outlet passage roll as it is resting on the bottom side offor the paper and the arrangement of the finger notch. As will be seen from the drawings. the outlet passage which is formed between the upper edge of cover plate 3 and the adjacent surface of the thickened edge. lc of casing I is formed in a tortuous path the final section of which extends out horizontally instead of vertically. This permits the entire casing to be recessed in the wall with the front face thereof lying in the same plane as the face of wall 6. In this arrangement the finger notch 3c is formed in the upper thickened edge of the plate 3, and a suitable ridge' 3c is provided at the lower front edge. of the notch to facilitate opening of the cover plate 3 when it is necessary to refill the dispenser.

Instead of forming the finger notch in the upper edge of plate 3, this notch may be formed in thethickened edge lc as shown at lc in Figures 8 and 9. In this arrangement the fingers when- One advantage of the arrangements shown in Figures 4 to 9, inclusive, is that they may be mounted so that the casing I does not occupy any substantial space within the room, since all of the casing, or a substantial part of it, is mounted within the space between the walls 6 and 6a of the room partition or wall.

As shown in Figures 2, '7 and 9, the parallel walls of the tortuous passage are spaced apart adistance greater than the thickness of the paper, and this distance is small by comparison with the length of the passage. Also, one wall of the passage is formed on a portion of the plate 3 which overlaps a portion of the wall of the casing, the arrangement being suohthat when the casing is opened to insert a new roll, the outlet passage is also opened to facilitate loading of the dispenser.

Our dispenser is especially useful for the dispensing of relatively weak tissues since there is very little snubbing action on the material as it is drawn out of the casing.

It will be obvious that various details of coristruction may be varied without departing from the principle of the invention, and we do not intend to be limited to any particular construction except as specified in the appended claims.

We claim;

1. A dispenser for sheet material in roll form comprising, a casing in which said roll rests freely against the bottom wall thereof, said casing having a passageway through which said sheet material is withdrawn from said casing at a point above said roll, said passageway being located so that as the material is drawn upwardly throughsaid passageway at least a part of the weight of mounted with its open side in a vertical plane, a

vertical closure plate covering the open side of 8 and 9 the rearwardly sloping said casing, a pivotal connection between said casing and said plate at the lower edge of said plate, and a passageway for withdrawing sheet material from said casing formed between the upper edge of said casing and said closure plate, the upper edge of said casing and the adjacent portion of said closure plate being formed of relatively thick portions, and said passageway being formed with a tortuous path to exert a snubbing action on said material and to thereby prevent.

the material from falling back into said casing.

' 3. A dispenser for sheet material in roll form comprising, in combination, a box-like casing mounted with its open side in a vertical plane, a vertical closure plate covering the open side of said casin and a passageway forwithdrawing sheet material from said casing at a point above said roll, said passageway being formed of parallel walls spaced apart a distance which is small by comparison with the length of the'passage, one

of said walls being formed on the upper portion of said casing and the other wall being formed on the adjacent surface of said closm-e plate and said passage being arranged in a tortuous path to exert a snubbing action on said material.

4. A dispenser according to claim 3 wherein a finger notch is formed in one of the walls of said passageway at the outlet end thereof.

5. A dispenser according to claim 3 wherein the end portion of said passageway extends in a horizontal plane, and a finger notch is formed in one of the walls of said passageway at the outlet end thereof.

6. A-dispenser according to claim 3 and including a supporting wall, said casing being mounted in an aperture in said wall with the major portion of said casing extending to the side of the wall opposite to the side of the closure plate.

7. A dispenser according to claim 3 and includ- 7 ing a supporting wall, said casing being mounted in an aperture in said wall with the open side -a vertical plate covering the thereof positioned in the plane of one face of said wall, and the end portion of said passageway being arrangedin a horizontal plane.

8; A dispenser for sheet material in roll form comprising, in combination, a vertical mounting plate, a box-like casing having vertical end walls, said casing being mounted so the open side thereof is closed by said mounting plate and the vertical end walls embrace said mounting plate, a hinged connection between the edge of the lower wall of the casing and the lower edge of said mountingplate, releasable latching means for holding said casing in its normal position with respect tosaid mounting plate, the upper wall of said casing having a portion at the edge thereof thickened in avertical direction, and the adjacent portion of said mounting plate being thickened in a horizontal direction, the adjacent surfaces of said thickened portions being arranged in spaced parallel relation along a tortuous path to provide a passageway through which sheet material is withdrawn from said casing, and said thickened portion on said mounting plate having a finger notch formed in the central portion thereof.

9. A dispenser for sheet material in roll form comprising, in combination, a box-like casing mounted with its Open side in a vertical plane, open side of said casing, a pivotal connection between said casing and said plate at the lower edge of said plate, and a passageway for withdrawing sheet material from said casing formed between the upper .edge of said casing and said plate, the upper edge of said casing being thickened in a verticaldir'ection and the adjacent portion of said plate being, thickened in a horizontal direction. and said thickened portion oi the mounting plate having a finger notch formed in the central portion thereof.

' KENNETH TATOR.

GUSTAVE HOLMGREN. 

